New Delhi Aug 11 (IANS) Legendary athlete Milkha Singh was on Friday appointed the World Health Organisation s goodwill ambassador for physical activity in the South-East Asia Region the WHO confirmed in a statement.
"Promoting physical activity for health is an important intervention which is expected to get a significant boost in the region with the support of octogenarian Milkha Singh a champion for the cause " said Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh Regional Director WHO South-East Asia.
"Whatever the age group gender physical ability or socio-economic background being physically active is an effective way to ensure a healthy and productive life.
"With support of Milkha Singh we expect to promote and scale up physical activity in the region to be able to arrest and reverse the non-communicable diseases (NCD) epidemic " she said.
She added that an estimated 8.5 million people die due to NCDs every year in WHO South-East Asia region. Many of these deaths are premature and nearly all are lifestyle related.
--IANS
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